Dash forward Ebony Salmon (11) controls the ball while defended by Gotham FC midfielder McCall Zerboni (left) and defender Estelle Johnson (right), (Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports)

NJ/NY Gotham FC is starting to find new ways to lose in what has become a season to forget.

The National Women’s Soccer League team played the final 32 minutes with 10 players after Midge Purce was red carded in its 2-1 loss at 0the Houston Dash at PNC Stadium in Houston on Wednesday night.

Gotham, which is in 11th place and two points out of last place, fell to 4-10 – the first NWSL team to reach double digits in defeats – while second-place Houston improved to 8-4-4.

Not a good way to impress interim head coach Hue Menzies in his first game on the bench, although he had some nice things to say about his team, believe it or not.

“I think it’s a little bit of hunger of them wanting to play a little bit better soccer,” Menzies said in a statement. “The red card hurts for us. We had a lot of momentum going. But at the end of the day, we showed a lot of resilience with 10 players and it was an early red card. We had our chances in the first half where we got to put them way, but I have to applaud them for the effort and some of the adjustments that were made in a short space of time.”

Gotham had to play with 10 after Purce picked up her second yellow card in the 58th minute.

Ebony Salmon lifted the hosts into the lead in the 72rd as goalkeeper Michelle Betos got her hand on the shot that bounced off the crossbar and in.

Four minutes later, Marisa Viggiano doubled the lead. a few of minutes later to make it 2-0.

Gotham’s Kristie Mewis found McCall Zerboni on a set piece to make it 2-1 in the 80th minute. It was Zerboni’s first goal since the season opener at Orlando.

“Hue has definitely brought a new look to our team,” Paige Monaghan said. “Just really nailing down our possession as a team and finding our valuable players like Kristie Mewis, like McCall Zerboni, just getting them on the ball to be our midfielders and dictate what we want to do and manipulate teams and make them make mistakes so we can be advancing up the field and more effective as a unit.”

 

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.